@Joe, sort of... but going to a gig or a restaurant is not a hobby. A hobby is fun but there are more fun things than a hobby.
–
Noel AbrahamsJun 21 '11 at 21:44

With reference to @Callithumpian's post, here in the UK kids and teenagers often use fun as an adjective, as in "clipping toenails is such a fun thing". I am hoping that someone will come up with a catchy word (either existing or brand new) that means recreation, diversion, pastime/hobby/pursuit, lark, entertainment, amusement, leisure actvity... Perhaps funnery?
–
Noel AbrahamsJun 25 '11 at 12:26

12 Answers
12

Timepass is a useful little noun in Indian English that encompasses all the things you do just to pass the time. You could go for a walk, read a book, or go out to a restaurant, and if someone asked you what you were doing, you'd say, "Timepass".

The word does not include in its meaning activities that may be fun but require a high level of strenuous exercise. If you were climbing Mt. Everest, you would probably not call it timepass.

In fact, it only includes activities done for leisure. If you are young, it sometimes carries the sense of doing something (like hanging out at the local pub) because you have nothing better to do and don't really care. College students spend most of their time doing timepass. If you are older, timepass is an indulgence, like drinking coffee and reading a book on a rainy Sunday afternoon. And if you are older still, you sort of look down on all the kids wasting their lives away doing timepass, instead of something more constructive (like cleaning the house).

The best word is recreate or recreation, but it's rarely used the way you're talking about.

You could say, "we need time for recreation" or "I recreated this weekend." That's odd to say, but the meaning is clear. While you're at it try "Let's recreate!" That should get some interesting reactions.

That's the word you're looking for, but for whatever reason we don't use it that way.

The more common word we use is "play," as in "Let's play," or "I'm just going to play all weekend." The only problem with this word is it is heavily connoted as a child's activity.

I did happen upon play myself. And I think it's a very close match to what I want to say. But unfortunately, as you say, the word has been hijacked by the under 10 brigade - as well as all internet game websites.
–
Noel AbrahamsJun 21 '11 at 21:48

There was nothing in the question that asks for a verb. But if you want one, play is as good as any. It's not limited to activities kids engage in. (While not recreational for most, there is the phrase playing the market, which is far from kidlike, E*TRADE commercial notwithstanding. Recreational adult playing occurs in casinos and bedrooms as well. And then of course there are video games, which are played by a growing number of 30-somethings and 40-somethings, not just kids.)
–
John YJun 29 '11 at 20:49

Yes, I understand that one doesn't "do" fun at present, but it's certainly possible (if you were to ask any 5-year old!). I've tagged it as a neologism as I don't think there is a word that describes collectively the idea of doing a fun thing.
–
Noel AbrahamsJun 21 '11 at 13:59

Could to "do fun" be interpreted as creating fun?
–
AlexanderJun 24 '11 at 22:04

Although this is currently the answer with the most number of votes, it doesn't really address the question I raised in any way. It's a bit like chancing upon a man in deep water going "Help! throw me a rope" and shouting back to him "Look up swimming, that's what you need!"
–
Noel AbrahamsJun 26 '11 at 12:12

1

@CarpeDiem: fun may not be the word you are looking for, but that doesn't necessarily stop it being the right word.
–
user1579Jun 28 '11 at 13:27

Thanks. I'm looking for that killer word that says it all. The points is going to a theme park is a "thrill" while going to an exhibition could be a delight or joy. But if we look at all these activities that one does for fun or relaxation, what would we call it? I hope that explains my question better.
–
Noel AbrahamsJun 21 '11 at 13:55

2

Let's just call it "fun" and make it happen. Fun happens. I did fun last weekend. ha ha
–
Peter DeWeeseJun 21 '11 at 14:07

1

@CarpeDiem, I would go with a pair "leisure" - "amusement"
–
UnreasonJun 21 '11 at 14:08

That's pretty much where i am at the moment. Julie: "I funned last weekend instead of working". Dick: "So did the fun make you happy?" Julie: "Why, yes. Blew me straight off my feet, it did - the wind, not the fun"
–
Noel AbrahamsJun 21 '11 at 14:28

It's not very catchy, but recreation is often used to describe the object of leisure activities; I believe the sense is that you are re-creating [ yourself / your soul / your joie de vivre ].

Most cities and municipalities in the US have a department dedicated to maintaining public leisure areas; that department is usually called "Parks and Recreation", which has been used as the title of a popular TV sitcom.

There's an abstinence-only catchphrase "Sex is for procreation, not recreation."

As for the second part of your question - using it as a verb - I have heard "recreated" used as a humorous back-formation; to get the point across, it's important to pronounce it
"reh-created" (the same as in "recreation"), not "ree-created".

"So, Jim, whadja do this weekend?"
"Me and the wife, we recreated down at the lake."

This won't work, because any unfamiliar word used as a verb to tell what me and the wife did automatically takes the meaning "have sex", regardless of what you intended. For example: me and the wife haberdashed up and down Spring Street for two hours Saturday, if you can believe that.
–
Jason OrendorffJun 21 '11 at 18:48

I can't really buy horseriding/fishing as pastime/hobby. Listening to the radio/Stamp collecting, maybe. In general, I think the difference is hobbies invariably imply effort/commitment/etc. from the participant. This may apply to pastimes (of which hobbies are in some senses a subset), but it doesn't have to.
–
FumbleFingersJun 25 '11 at 4:24

1

@FumbleFingers - "I can't really buy horseriding/fishing as pastime/hobby" - Really? You'll find these listed as pastimes and hobbies in a multitude of books. Perhaps horseriding only counts if the horse is wooden? The word hobby is glossed by the OED as "a small or middle-sized horse; an ambling or pacing horse; a pony." The word is attested in English from the 14th century, as Middle English hobyn.
–
osknowsJun 25 '11 at 12:01

@osknows: The fact that hobby can mean a horse has nothing to do with the matter under discussion. Which is that I don't accept your definition of horseriding as a pastime, to be distinguished from fishing as a hobby.
–
FumbleFingersJun 26 '11 at 12:31

1

@FumbleFingers I alluding to the etymology of 'hobby' - A hobby horse is a wooden or wickerwork toy made to be ridden just like a real horse (which was sometimes called a "Hobby"). From this came the expression "to ride one's hobby-horse", meaning "to follow a favorite pastime", and in turn, hobby in the modern sense of recreation.
–
osknowsJun 26 '11 at 12:39

1

@Fumble, I haven't said "horseriding is a pastime, whereas fishing is a hobby"?. Use them interchangeably. Horseriding can be both a pastime and a hobby. Fishing can be both a pastime and a hobby. They're surely both activities one can do for pleasure.
–
osknowsJun 26 '11 at 12:55

divertissement is a nice word. Do you think it can be turned into something that rolls more easily off the tongue?
–
Noel AbrahamsJun 25 '11 at 17:40

@Carpe Divertimento is a sort of equivalent, but it refers specifically to a musical interlude. If you want a neologism, I suppose you could use "divertisse" or "diverti," which preserve the root and are easier to say.
–
Kit Z. Fox♦Jun 25 '11 at 21:31

Diversion is old-fashioned but it was a perfect fit. In Spanish this is the word for fun.
–
hippietrailJun 27 '11 at 5:13

USAGE The use of fun as an adjective meaning ‘enjoyable,’ as in : we had a fun evening, is not fully accepted in standard English and should only be used in informal contexts. There are signs, however, that this situation is changing, given the recent appearance in U.S. English of comparative and superlative forms funner and funnest, formed as if fun were a normal adjective. The adjectival forms funner and funnest have not 'arrived' in all the dictionaries, however, and if employed at all, they should be used sparingly and not in formal written English.

Might as well take it all the way and start doing some fun, goshdurnit.

You cannot think of a good word for what you "do" for fun because that is the whole point of fun: it's not something you "do", it is something that happens.

< insert rant here on how people can't just relax and have fun anymore, we must needs be learning how to cook poisonous blowfish or indoor skydiving or snowboarding in Tibet or suchlike activities all the time>

Agreed "fun" is more something that happens than something you do. Added to which the more often you "do" the same things as you did when you had fun before, the more likely it is you won't have fun doing them again. If you're lucky you'll still be entertained, or at least diverted. If not you'll be bored.
–
FumbleFingersJun 25 '11 at 4:15

Footloose and fancy free - I had no plans so I was footloose and fancy free this weekend.

Hell of a (good) time

Cavort, monkey around, fool around, frolic, revel, merrymaking, romp, rollick, escapade, an occurrence, a happening, have a blast, a shindig, a bash, an event, a function, a social affair, a do, a soiree and finally a riot.... :)

Thanks. Yes, that's a useful word, although it sounds a bit old-fashioned. Also according to dictionary.com avocation also means your regular occupation - so sounds a bit like work.
–
Noel AbrahamsJun 27 '11 at 6:18